Nine year old Oskar deals with the aftermath of 9/11 in NYC. He is very precocious but believable. The entire novel has a surreal air about it. Though a bit contrived, you care about Oskar and his fate. A page-turner as well.

Two young Australian women who have lost their parents during the war hope to start a new life in England in the 1950s. Follow the lives and loves of Caroline (Caro) and Grace Bell through three decades. The novel is very well-written with clues throughout that inform the final pages. If you read it carefully, you will be rewarded with tears at the tragic ending.

At first you're not sure who the narrator is, but then you realize that she is the same one throughout each of the 5 or so elegies. She is recounting episodes in the lives of people that she has crossed paths with in one way or another, including her mother. Her voice is a little bit annoying and the format seems a little gimicky but it was not a bad read.

Newbery award winner. Kids around age 13-14 are interacting and trying to find themselves and find love circa 1969. Mainly because it was reminiscent of my own time period and my small home town in the midwest, I found it endearing. A couple of laugh-out-loud moments and one or two poignant ones as well.

Young couple in 1962 in the U.K. on their honeymoon. Nervous and inexperienced, their every move and thought is explored as they approach the moment of consummation which does not go well. Each overreacts and the relationship suffers. The final chapter fills in what happens to each. Well-written of course and fascinating.

Common man Jude aspires to university and a respectable career as a minister. When he is tricked into an early marriage to a pregnant girl, he veers off-course and never recovers. Excellent, well-written psychological study of a young man. Progressive for its time in taking on pre-marital sex and questioning the existence of God.

An old man reflects on his childhood past, the more recent past of his wife's dying, and the present which finds him in a boarding house. Well-written, somewhat Proustian in nature as it meanders between various past moments and the present. The final scene where we learn secrets previously unrevealed is reminiscent of McEwan's Atonement. Interesting reflections on life and death, but a bit dull at times. Booker Prize winner.

The novel follows a day in the life of George, a middle-aged gay English Professor in California. Throughout his pretty mundane day we gain insight on his view of life and see how he's dealing with the recent death of his young lover Jim. I found the novel at times very funny and insightful on the world in the 1960s. A quick read that I think most people would enjoy.

As usual, Barker delivers an excellent, well-written novel. She has a subtle way of giving her characters depth without the reader even realizing it. You just feel like you know them or recognize them. In my opinion, the only shortcoming was the "mystery" of the attacker.

Unsentimental view of grief and mourning after death of spouse. Well-written, thought-provoking, cerebral, poignant. "You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."

Fabian Vas, as the narrator, opens the story by saying he lives in Witless Bay, Newfoundland and that he is a bird artist and murderer. Enjoyed this well-written story with unusual characters in 1912 Newfoundland. Good sense of time and place.

Amid religious and political turmoil, Ka visits Turkey, his native country, to reconnect with his childhood girlfriend, Ipek. A political novel which is not my cup of tea, but the love story and the lyrical descriptions of snow kept me reading. Opening words: "the silence of snow..."

Most brilliant collection of short stories. Stegner has a way of describing a scene that puts the reader right into the story. In the first story, The Traveler, you feel the snow, the cold, and the darkness. The Colt will break your heart. In The City of the Living, you ache for the father's concern over his ill son.

The three main characters, Gillian, Oliver and Stuart alternate speaking. Stuart used to be best friends with Oliver until Stuart's wife Gillian left him for Oliver. Ten years have gone by since then, but Stuart has insinuated himself back into the lives of his former wife and former friend. It's interesting to hear the same scene recounted from each's perspective. Not a lot happens and the ending ties nothing up. That's life, I guess.

Each chapter takes the viewpoint of a different character in an old-fashioned newspaper office. There are only minimal references that link one character to the next, but you are slowly drawn in and eager to read the next entry. In between chapters are 3 page updates referring back to the original founding of the paper. Tension and interest slowly build until you are completely engrossed by the end and wishing for more. Great first time effort by this author.

David is a 52 year old professor at a university in South Africa. After a relationship with a student goes bad, he is forced out of the school. He ends up living with his grown daughter outside the city. Despite a disturbing violent scene that I was unprepared for, I still think that this was well-written and worth reading, although I, myself, will probably not read Coetzee again. Enjoyed the protagonist's pondering on life, love, sex, and aging.

After reading Endless Love I wasn't sure how I felt about it. The novel is an extremely painful tale of a boy in love; unfortunately this love is not the healthy kind of teenage love we are use to. The protagonist, David is obsessed with his girlfriend Jade and her family. He is fascinated by them and they become his entire world. Even though Jade’s family, the Butterfield’s accepts their rather mature relationship (to the point of sanctioning their love making in their own home), David is eventually banished from the house and contact with Jade for 30 days. This 30 day banishment was too much for David to bear, so he concocts a plan to confront the Butterfields which goes horribly wrong. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a “page-turner” but the story does suck you in and you can easily finish it in a weekend (despite its 418 pages).

Booker Prize runner up. Fairly intriguing story of an English doctor who comes from humble beginnings and his relationship with an aristocratic family. The "little stranger" refers to the ghost of a daughter who died at age 10 in the mansion. Rather fast-paced and engrossing, but also frustrating. As the reader, we feel that the ghosts are real, but the doctor (without our viewpoint) refuses to acknowledge even the possibility of a ghost. As each family member reacts to their fears, the doctor rationally assumes that they are mentally unstable. The ending is somewhat disappointing in that things remain unresolved

The perspective of each chapter alternates with the voice of one of the 3 main characters. Each boy, in a way, represents the progressive stages that a young gay person might go through. Nelson is the stereotypical effeminate boy who is already out of the closet. Kyle, a swimmer, is friends with Nelson and is emerging from the closet. Jason, the jock, is fighting with his homosexual feelings. Harsh aspects, such as verbal and physical abuse, are not shied away from. Some HIV and sex talk, but not preachy. There are several sexual encounters that are not explicit. Despite some of the gay (and straight) stereotyping, the fluid writing style and the realism of the emotions make this an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

This novel has been receiving a lot of praise and deserves it. A sprawling book with many intertwined plots and characters, it nonetheless is a page-turner which rarely goes more than a page without a clever insight or occurrence that adds to the intrigue of the story. The plot centers around a college-educated, upper-middle class family living in various parts of the US during the past thirty years and primarily concerns parent-child and sexual relationships. Franzen writes this book for the educated, New York Times-reading, pop culture-proficient American and a large part of the pleasure of this book is revisiting political and cultural trends and events through the author’s sardonic hindsight. The characters are mostly despicable but realistic and relatable, embodying the full spectrum of mental distress the afflicts middle and upper class America: romantic regret, existential dilemmas, and various types of societal guilt. Freedom is set apart from other modern family dramas because Franzen is extraordinarily adept at describing relationships and identifying the external forces--both parental and societal--that steer human decision-making. Highly recommended.